


Fluffy As You Were

by authoressjean



Series: The Fluffy Files [44]
Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2001-03-29
Updated: 2001-03-29
Packaged: 2018-10-12 14:57:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10493385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/authoressjean/pseuds/authoressjean





	

“So…how long have you and Riley been married?” Buffy said as she absently swung her stake, trying to ignore the tension between her and Sam. Ever since Riley had swooped in, unexpectedly, and asked for her help, her night had become a lot more complicated. She’d been feeling great, and almost thought she was going to kiss him, until a female voice had broken in, asking what she had been doing with her husband.

Things had gone downhill from there.

The woman was Sam, someone Riley had met in South America, or somewhere in the Southern Hemisphere. Buffy didn’t remember exactly, nor did she care. What made her upset was that Riley hadn’t told her. He’d acted like he wanted to give them another shot, to talk things out with her.

He had at least had the decency to look embarrassed, as she had been. Then, in those few moments, she had wanted nothing but Spike by her side. It would’ve felt good to see the shocked look on their faces if she kissed him. She remembered having one on her face when Riley had kissed Sam.

“Nine months now.”

“Oh,” was all Buffy could manage. Nine months? You would’ve thought that that would mean something to Riley. Enough to tell me! She thought bitterly. “How long were you engaged?” she said, trying not to let her emotions creep into her voice.

Sam smiled, lost in memory. “Just two months, that’s all. It seems awful short, doesn’t it?”

Buffy tried to keep her face straight as she did the math. Sam had said that Riley had been over Buffy for awhile before he and Sam got engaged. 9 plus 2…that was 11 months.

Buffy could feel her heart stop. Over a year together of joyous memories, heartache, and other things, and he had completely gotten over her within less then a month? Her vision began to blur as tears stung her eyes.

“You’ve been a little quiet; is everything all right?”

Buffy looked the other way, pretending to search for something, as she tried to wipe the tears away without Sam seeing. “Yep. Just looking for the landmark. There’s this guy I know, and he can help us. But I should probably go alone. He’s pretty skittish, but he knows me, so it’ll be okay.”

Sam nodded eagerly. “Got it, commander. We’ll converge back at the meeting spot.” With that, she turned and hurried off to join Riley and the rest of the team.

Buffy, meanwhile, was running as fast as she could towards a familiar crypt and the one who could help her, in more ways then one.

Spike was sitting atop the sarcophagus when she flung the door open. “Ah, didn’t ‘spect to see you so soon, pet. Didn’t think Dawn would be tucked away in her bed this early…”

“Tell me you love me,” Buffy said, cutting him off. The tears she had forced back were now making their way silently down her cheeks.

Spike stopped in mid-sentence, shock written all over his features. He watched, surprised, as tears began to roll down her face. “I lo…” he started, but Buffy cut him off again.

“Tell me you want me. Tell me I’m wonderful, beautiful, smart, and that any guy would be lucky to have me,” she managed to choke out, before falling to her knees, crying. “To make it short,” she whispered, her voice trembling, “Just tell me lies.”

For a few moments, there was silence in the crypt, besides for the occasional sniffle coming from Buffy’s direction. Spike blinked, then slowly got down on his knees, reaching for the huddled slayer.

He rocked back onto his toes and placed his finger underneath her chin, bringing her head up to look him in the eye.

She blinked and looked up at him, her eyes red and puffy. Spike swallowed. “You are wonderful, beautiful, smart, and any guy’d be lucky to have you.”

Buffy looked down at the ground. This is what she’d wanted him to say, wasn’t it? Then why was it only making her feel worse?

Seeing the dejected look on her face, he quickly continued. “I love you, and I want you.” He pulled her head up again, then added softly, “And I was never good at lyin’.”

Letting out a choked sob, she leaned into his open arms, and cried into his shirt as he rubbed her back, whispering words of comfort.

After she’d calmed down slightly, he dared to ask the question: “What happened, luv?”

Thoughts of Riley kissing Sam flashed through her head, and Buffy couldn’t answer. Instead, she merely whimpered and buried herself deeper into his shirt.

Spike could feel anger coursing through his veins. Whoever had put her through this much pain was going to suffer… “Who did this?” he asked in a soft tone, though there was a hint of anger in his tone.

Buffy sniffled, not releasing her hold on Spike’s shirt. “R-Riley,” she stuttered. She hated feeling helpless and insecure, but she had to admit, it was nice for someone to be so concerned about her.

Spike couldn’t help the grin that began to spread across his face. “Oh, I’ll enjoy poundin’ him,” he said. “Been wantin’ to, ever since he walked out on you last year.”

Buffy looked up at him and sat back, wiping her eyes. “No pounding,” she said seriously. Then she began to smile. “I get the honors.”

Spike grinned broadly. “That’s my girl,” he said. “But I’d really like to know why we’re gonna pound him. And yeah, I’m gettin’ a hit in,” he said, cutting off her objections.

Buffy rolled her eyes. “Okay, okay. A few hits, all yours.” She looked down at her hands. “But you don’t touch his wife,” she said softly, looking back up at him.

He was confused for a few seconds, until it finally hit what she was trying to tell him. “W-Wife?” he stammered. “Cap’n Cardboard’s got a wife? He hasn’t even been gone a year, and he’s…” Spike broke off, watching her face fall. “All right, lemme hear it all,” he ordered, sitting back.

She sighed. “Riley showed up at work today, asking for my help with something big. A demon, actually. We tracked it and followed it all over town, and then I took it out. That’s when Sam made her entrance. She and Riley have been married for about nine months now. She said they were engaged for two months, and he was over me for a long time before he asked her to marry him.”

She could see Spike frown as he quickly added the months up. He stopped, blinked, then slowly turned and stared at Buffy. “Less then a month?” he practically roared. “You’re tryin’ to tell me that he was over you in less then a month?! After everything you two shared, he forgot ‘bout you and…”

“STOP!” Buffy didn’t realize that she’d yelled until the word came out louder and harsher then she’d expected. “Please, stop,” she said softer, burying her face in her hands.

Within seconds he was by her side again, wrapping his arms around her, murmuring apologies as he rocked her in his arms. She let the second batch of tears fall as she leaned against Spike, not wanting the moment to end.

“I’m sorry, luv. Just can’t believe that he’d forget such a wonderful woman like you. Sure I can’t pound him for ya?”

Buffy laughed, despite her tears. “Yes, I’m sure. That would be unreasonable.”

“Careful; startin’ to sound like your Watcher.”

Buffy smiled. “And we don’t want that.” She mock shuddered at the thought.

Spike laughed and sat back, holding her at arm length. “You gonna be okay, luv?” he asked, his _expression worried again.

Buffy nodded. “I’m not right now, but I will be. Besides, this is only one problem out of two.”

“Two?”

“The entire reason Riley’s back is based on it. He says he’s tracking some demon called the Doctor, or something. And this demon has some eggs that could prove hazardous.”

Spike’s eyes widened, before he looked down. Buffy felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. “You know this guy?” she asked.

He looked up at her, slightly surprised. “Thought you’d figure it was me,” he said softly.

“Is it?”

“No.”

“But you obviously know something.”

Spike sighed. “Told ya I was never good at lyin’,” he said, smiling ruefully at her. “Yeah, I know ‘bout him and his eggs. I wasn’t gonna tell you ‘bout them; kinda figured you had enough goin’ on without more problems.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down. You knew about this whole thing, and didn’t tell me? Why? Spike, my job is to…” Her mouth fell open as he looked down at the floor, ashamed. “Tell me you aren’t in on this,” she said slowly, her voice shaky and unsure.

“I am and I’m not,” he said, running his hands through his hair. “It’s a long story, startin’ with a demon comin’ to town, needin’ somewhere to hide the eggs. He found me and made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.”

Buffy frowned. “What was the offer?”

Spike looked around at everything but her. “Um…”

Buffy felt her anger rising. “Spike,” she started in a warning tone.

He sighed. “The offer was a protection spell for a buildin’.”

“You wanted a protection spell on your crypt, so you let him…”

“Not my crypt.” If vampires could blush, she knew he would have.

“What? Then what was it for?”

“You.”

Buffy blinked and stared at him. He was serious. “Explain.”

“He said he would put a protection spell ‘round your house and everyone inside it so nothin’ nasty could get in.”

For a moment, Buffy was speechless. He’d done something he obviously knew was wrong to protect her. She looked up at him and almost laughed. He sat back on his heels, twiddling his thumbs, looking ready to bolt any second.

She cupped her hands around his face and smiled at his bewildered look. “Thank you. Although,” she said, smiling, “Next time you want to be helpful? Consult me first.”

He smirked. “I’ll ‘member that.” His eyes caught hers, and for a few seconds, the world stopped moving. He slowly leaned down, and Buffy could feel her heart begin to race as he caught her lips with his. The soft, gentle brush became more passionate as Buffy closed her eyes, wishing the moment could last forever: him, his lips on hers, and no worries.

The moment lasted for less then a few minutes, however, before the door was slammed open. “Buffy, I think we have a lead on who…”

Riley’s voice stopped as he caught sight of Buffy and Spike kissing passionately, their hands wrapped around the other.

With a feral roar, Riley pulled the two apart and slammed Spike against the wall. Spike blinked in confusion, before starting to smirk. “If it isn’t Cap’n Cardboard. How’s the world been treatin’ ya these days?”

“I should have done this a long time ago,” Riley said, pulling out a stake. Spike’s smirk vanished and was replaced by a slight look of terror before Riley slammed his arm forward…

And found himself on the other side of the crypt. He looked up, shocked, at the look of fury on Buffy’s face. “Don’t you lay a hand on him, Agent Finn,” she said coldly. “And that’s an order.”

“Buffy, he was kissing you!”

Buffy gave him a ‘well, duh!’ look. “I was kissing him back, so I kinda noticed,” she said, enjoying his look of hurt probably more then she should have.

Spike grinned, then wrapped his arm around Buffy’s waist for emphasis. “She don’t mind my bein’ ‘round these days,” he said, laying a kiss on the top of her head, knowing that any minute, Buffy would probably start pounding him.

Instead, she did the unexpected. She smiled at Spike, then turned back to Riley. “Actually, Spike and I are a couple now, so to speak.”

Spike didn’t know who was more shocked: him or Riley. He knew she was probably just saying this to get back at Riley and he couldn’t help feeling a pang of hurt.

Riley started to say something, then shook his head, climbing to his feet. “We’ll discuss this later.”

“No, actually, we won’t, but go on,” Buffy said. Before Riley could say anything, she snapped, “Get over it, Riley. We’re done. You have no say so in my life whatsoever anymore. Now, I believe we have business to attend to, and I’d like to know how you knew I was here.”

Riley uncurled his fists slowly and sighed. “I didn’t know you were here until I opened the door. We’ve tracked the Doctor’s eggs to here, which means, unless they’re yours, Buffy, the Doctor happens to be the undead roach behind you.”

Spike could feel Buffy tightening in front of him, and quickly grabbed her shoulders before she launched herself at the soldier.

“Yes,” she said when she had control over her voice again. “The eggs are here. And no, Spike isn’t the Doctor. Your mission is to find the Doctor. Stick with what you came here for, and stay out of my personal life.”

Riley nodded, obviously wanting to say something back, but wisely deciding against it. He headed for the trap door, saying, “In that case, I’ll just destroy the eggs and be gone.”

Spike started after him, but Buffy held him back. “The protection spell,” he whispered frantically as Riley descended into the basement.

Buffy smiled. “It’s okay. Really, it is. Besides, it’s the thought that counts, right?”

Spike didn’t look convinced. Then his eyes widened, and he started forward once more. “Really Spike, the protection spell isn’t worth it,” Buffy said, stepping in front of him.

“How exactly is he gonna get rid of the eggs?” he asked anxiously. It took less then two seconds for Buffy to figure out what he was driving at, and by then, he was halfway down the ladder. Buffy quickly followed, and hoped that Riley wasn’t going to torch the place to the ground.

They got there just in time. The nest of eggs lay in one of the darker corners, and Riley was in the process of pulling out a grenade when Spike jumped him. Riley dropped the grenade in surprise, before punching Spike off of him. Buffy grabbed the fallen grenade and hissed, “Get out. We’ll deal with it. I promise you, the eggs will be destroyed.”

Riley paused for a moment, shifting his gaze from her to the eggs. Finally he nodded, and held his hand out for the grenade.

Slowly she gave it back to him as he glared at both her and Spike. “I hope you two are happy,” he said. With that, he headed upstairs. There was a clang of the door, and Spike sighed.

“He’s gone. Only one heartbeat in this crypt, and it’s beatin’ awful fast. You okay?”

Buffy shook her head. “I was afraid he was going to turn that grenade on us,” she said, laughing nervously. She took a deep breath and unclenched her fists.

Spike put his hand on her shoulder and smiled. “But he didn’t. ‘Sides, think ‘bout the face he made when you told him we were involved.” Spike tried to smile, and hoped he didn’t sound as despondent as he felt. “Can’t believe he fell for it.”

Buffy frowned and turned to look at Spike. “Fell for what?”

“You know, tellin’ him we were ‘a couple these days’,” Spike said, not understanding why she wasn’t getting it.

Buffy’s eyes widened, before she softly smiled. “I wasn’t joking,” she said quietly.

Spike gaped at her. “You…you were…”

“Serious as can be,” she said, avoiding his gaze. “We ARE a couple. Unless, of course, you just consider sex an exercise.”

The bug-eyed look on his face was too much; Buffy started to laugh. Spike blinked a few times, then grinned at her. “No, I don’t, and I don’t think you do either, pet.”

Buffy stopped laughing and turned scarlet. It was Spike’s turn to laugh at her face. He stopped, turning towards her, with hope glittering on his face. “Are you sayin’…?”

“Yeah. I’m saying.”

“You’re gonna give us a chance?”

Buffy smiled. “Yeah. I’m gonna give us a chance.”

His response was a gentle kiss on her lips that left her weak in the knees. He smiled at her and wrapped his arms around her, holding her and not wanting anything more at the moment. The two stayed that way for a long time, content just being together.

THE END


End file.
